New Parking Regs..what's the scoop?

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

The new parking regs are upon Davis Square. I personally hate the max of 1 hour on meters, and the ever-enthusiastic meter-readers. Have they put up the permit-only signs everywhere? How are you all handling the new regulations?

Comments

[ron_newman]

Which meters have a max of 1 hour? The parking lots have 3 hours, and I thought the street meters were all either 2 or 3.

As far as I can see so far, the only thing that has changed is the meter rate, now 25 cents for 15 minutes instead of for 30.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Usually the on-street meters in the heart of Davis, near Starbucks, are a one-hour max. That's not new though.

Everybody hates them

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

http://www.thesomervillenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=1824

http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/homepage/x1606967384/Somerville-Traffic-Commission-refuses-to-hear-alderman-resident-parking-regulation-complaints

Apparently these highly controversial policies that will affect nearly all somerville residents are being pushed through willy-nilly by a non-elected body under the purview of Mayor Joe (of whom my opinion is rapidly dimming). I wonder if there is some way the Alderpeople could enact some form of legislation to bring issues such as this back under their jurisdiction?

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Now that my fiancee owns Your Move Games, I've been parking nearish there (i.e. near the Rite Aid) All the meters I've seen now have big stickers across the top that say until 8 pm, and 25 cents per 15 minutes.

These are new meters. Where do we get a card that can be slid thru the meters? Or is that not advisable?

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Remember, unless they've changed it, feeding the meter to be there longer than the max time will get you a ticket, too.

Re: Everybody hates them

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

OK, I read part of the articles above, and am confused.

1. If you feed a meter to stay in a spot longer than one hour, you can get ticketed?

2. If you park at a meter after 8 pm you can be ticketed because you don't have a resident sticker?

3. Does this mean that there is no parking at all, even at meters, in Davis Square/all of Somerville on Sundays, except with a resident sticker?

Where are you supposed to park if you have to, for instance, eat at a restaurant and you start eating at 7:45? Why don't signs/meters say that you can't park unless you're a resident after 8 pm? Why don't signs/meters say that it is illegal/ticket worthy to feed a meter?

Re: Everybody hates them

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

1) yes
2) I don't know
3) Sundays put permit parking in abeyance, so it's a parking free-for-all on Sundays, as I understand it.

[coeceo.livejournal.com]

My understanding:

After the metered time is up, its fair game for anyone, unless specifically posted.

Yes (and this is not new), if you park in a spot for longer than the posted time limit you technically can get a ticket. I've never gotten one when doing 2 or 3 meter feeds, but never tried an all day attempt.

Re: Everybody hates them

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Why don't signs/meters say that it is illegal/ticket worthy to feed a meter?

It says so in the Parking regs:

It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit or cause to be deposited in a parking meter any coin for the purpose of permitting the vehicle of which he is in charge to remain in a parking space beyond the maximum period of time allowed in a particular zone.

http://www.somervillema.gov/CoS_Content/documents/TrafficRegJuly09.pdf

It's been that way a LONG time.
Heck it was even the subject of snark at one point from someone parked in front of one of the game shops on Highland Ave - the gamer wrote a scathing obscenity filled note to the officer about how the gamer had fed the meter every hour.

Re: Everybody hates them

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

Where did you get #2 from? I looked at the two articles, at least briefly, and saw nothing about not being able to park at the meters after 8 PM unless you have a permit.

Plus, that just seems ridiculous and seriously a slap at any evening/night businesses!

Re: Everybody hates them

[coeceo.livejournal.com]

Alderman Tom Taylor, the Chuck Norris of Somerville politics.

He should have roundhouse kicked that pension padding pompous parking prick in his fat head - wham pow!

Re: Everybody hates them

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

some of the meters in Davis are two hours, and some are one hour.

You can feed it for the limit of that time.

The signs say "two hour parking" or "one hour parking". That's supposed to clue you that you're only allowed to park there for that long.

Re: Everybody hates them

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

#1 has always been true. this isn't a new regulation. N-hour parking really means N-hour maximum parking, for which you must pay the meter in M-minute increments, but may not legally exceed the posted maximum.

Re: Everybody hates them

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

I was remembering the same passiveaggressivenotes.com post. it was in fact directly in front of Your Move Games.

Re: Everybody hates them

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/2008/01/01/your-move-officer/

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

I must have read this wrong -- are you seriously saying that giving them more money than you're supposed to will result in them charging you money? I'm just curious, particularly since I don't own a car and will not live in Somerville after the 16th.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

There is a limit to how long one can park at any given meter. It's stated on the meter.

It's not that you're "giving them more money"--it's that you're keeping other people from using the parking space after one hour/two hours/three hours, depending on the posted limit.

Re: Everybody hates them

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. The posted maximum means what it says.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I'm saying that if the meter, and the metered spot, is for two hours, and you pay $2.00, and then come out in two hours to pay again, they can ticket you past that first two hour period.

Always has been this way.

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

Ah, I did actually mis-read then. You're saying that if it's a two hour meter, you park for 1:55, then feed it and park for another two hours that's ticket worthy (which makes sense). I was reading it as the time limits are new, the meter may accept money for you to park for three hours (when you first park there) even though you can legally only park for two.

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

Yes, I see that now (see my response to icecreamempress above). That makes sense. I just misread your comment -- sorry! :)

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

np

Re: Everybody hates them

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

In the first article, there's this paragraph (read the last sentence):

The Somerville Parking Advocacy and Reform Coalition (SPARC) handed out a pamphlet of sorts to those present at this event. The pamphlet opens with the following statement: "On May 21st, 2009, The Somerville Traffic Commission voted to approve the following changes to City parking regulation: These changes are slated to be instated this summer." Some of the changes listed include residential permit parking only for any and all streets not currently designated, as well as all metered spots changing to residential permit parking only during non-enforced hours.

Re: Everybody hates them

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

Wow. That is So Not Cool.

Re: Everybody hates them

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Yer telling me. Your Move Games closes at midnight. Where am I supposed to park the car to pick up my fiancee to bring him home? You can't even get a business permit to work after 5 pm!

Re: Everybody hates them

[ron_newman]

I don't believe (2) is accurate.

Re: Everybody hates them

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

Not to mention all the business conducted in the Square after 8. Bars, movies, concerts, restaurants. I'd be super-pissed if I owned a business down there!

[cden4.livejournal.com]

Here is the official city press release about the recently implemented changes:
http://www.somervillema.gov/NewsDetail.cfm?instance_id=1485

Here's the summary:
All Meters to Go to $1 per Hour until 8 p.m.; Magoun Square Lot, Meacham Road and Dover Street Meters to Join Davis Square Lots in Providing 3-Hour Parking Limit; New Fees and Fines Approved by Aldermen and Traffic Commission Also to Go Into Effect

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

As for your 'how are you handling it' question: I've found that parking over on Mass Ave in Cambridge and walking from there to Davis is always preferable to getting my car near the rabid wolverines Somerville calls meter readers.

Re: Everybody hates them

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Anywhere, because the parking police are not out patrolling at midnight.

Re: Everybody hates them

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Not correct, I've received a parking ticket, for not having a permit, at 0015.

Aren't they going to need more meter reader?

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

...

Re: Everybody hates them

[masswich.livejournal.com]

I think there are some new meters for which you need a permit after the time is up (Beacon St., perhaps?) but not sure if that's now true for all of them.

In general lots of confusion over this.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

the only thing that has changed is the meter rate
Also the fact that meters are in effect until 8pm now. It used to be 6.

[ron_newman]

You're right, I forgot that.

Re: Everybody hates them

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

I did see that SPARC handout, as listed in the above quote/web page (my response to knowthyself. so it was the only conclusion I could make. But there aren't any signs, so who knows what you can get ticketed for or not?

Re: Everybody hates them

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

It's so fucking depressing. Somerville has some great things that I'd really like to share with my suburbanite (and urbanites from inconvenient places like brighton) friends, but it's going to be night-impossible now..

[warlord-mit.livejournal.com]

I thought the 8pm end time has been there a while... And it was a proposed 10pm end that people were really complaining about?

FWIW, I noticed stickers in Teele Sq on the meters for the 25c/15m 8a-8p changes.

[ron_newman]

Up until now, meters ran until 8 pm in Davis Square parking lots, but not on the street.

Re: Everybody hates them

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I sit corrected.

I don't think that all the meters are resident-only spaces after 8 pm, though.

[bettyw.livejournal.com]

Hmm - I knew about getting permission for party parking, but haven't attended any performance whose presenters seemsed to know about this (from the above-linked article):
Publicizing the city's permitting system for non-profit performing arts groups that allows their patrons to park in permit areas for arts performances.

Re: Aren't they going to need more meter reader?

[i-leonardo.livejournal.com]

they have reportedly hired quite a few more meter readers.

[joylewis.livejournal.com]

Has anyone heard anything about some of the major roads that are currently permit free being converted to resident only? I've been looking online but haven't seen if that passed. I think there was a vote on it on 7/30.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

One of the articles says the change to make all unrestricted streets permit-only has been postponed to October 1st.

Re: Everybody hates them

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I think SPARC's handout, or the article's description of that handout, got it wrong.

The initial proposal included adding a restriction to streets that are now 2 hour parking 8 AM - 6 PM except by permit, such as Beacon and Elm, so they'd also be permit-only from 6 PM to 8 AM.

The Parking Solutions Task Force recommended changing this, so the commission's meeting included an agenda item to make them 2 hour parking except by permit from 10 AM to 2:30 AM, and permit-only from 2:30 AM to 10 AM.

Everything else on the agenda was minor day-to-day stuff unrelated to the current changes, which still stand. (Making all streets permit-only has been postponed to October 1.)

[aquaflame16.livejournal.com]

I spoke to someone at 311 today to see what was up.
A few things I found out:
Sept 1: The 8 major streets change (see here (http://www.somervillema.gov/newsDetail.cfm?instance_id=1481) and here (http://www.somervillema.gov/newsDetail.cfm?instance_id=1487)):Broadway, Medford St., Highland Ave, Holland St., Elm St., Somerville Ave, Beacon St. and Washington St will be permit-only 2am-10am; "This change will allow non-permitted visitors to continue to park in two-hour zones - both metered and unmetered - but will prevent unpermitted cars from parking overnight."

Oct 1: All other streets become permit-parking only.

Those of us who currently live on currently non-permit streets and who have therefore not been allowed visitor cards should now be able to go get them. (according to 311, I haven't tried yet)
Additionally, according to the 311 person, it will be okay to use a "visitor" card on a borrowed car (i.e. car not owned by resident but temporarily in use by resident) as long as it's 2 days or less. We'll see. I would like to see them make this explicit in the visitor card regulations.

There are "extended visitor permits" available for 7 or 21 days. (but they seem quite expensive, IMO)
______________________________________________________________
Not from 311, but other things I wanted to mention:
According to this (http://www.somervillema.gov/newsDetail.cfm?instance_id=1487), there will be a new "2nd" shift business permit implemented to allow business owners and employees to park after 6pm.
Additionally, as Holland, Highland and Elm are all on the "8 major streets" list, if I read that correctly, parking on these streets will not go resident-only until 2am. So that's at least slightly less terrible for businesses in the Square.

Re: Everybody hates them

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

10am? Are the businesses, that, say, sell coffee or take drycleaning dropoffs not complaining about how that cuts into their regular business hours by a significant chunk? That's an awfully late end to the residents-only overnight restriction. I've typically seen it as 2am-6am for towns that ban overnight parking or overnight nonresident parking, and didn't even notice that detail until now.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

But I think they are extending the 2 hour limit for nonresidents until 2 AM on these major streets, where it currently ends at 6 PM. So they're taking away a whole lot of parking for moviegoers and other evening visitors who need to stay more than 2 hours.

And what about businesses that open before 10 AM?

[bryant]

Fascinating green-oriented piece on parking in the city here:

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010266.html